There and back again....our trip to Florida

We came home from San Antonio for a few days and then Brent and I packed up the kids in the car and drove 17 hours to get to Sunnyside, Florida where my grandma lives on the beach.  The drive down was wonderful!  On advice from my friend, Laura, I went to the dollar store and bought enough little prizes and snacks to dish out in increments throughout the drive.  Brent and I started the Ranger's Apprentice on cd and we stopped at all of the state line tourists stops.  We drove through East Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and landed in Florida.  We met my parents there and Jessica and Shawn came a few days later.  Such a wonderful family reunion! 

 Most mornings my parents bought us iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts and we enjoyed them on the back porch of my grandma's house.

 Then we hit the beach!  The roar of the waves and the blinding-white sand were beautiful.  We had a blast playing in the surf and marveling at creation.

 Sleepy girl.  :)  Jane got to put her feet in the ocean for the first time and was fascinated by the sand that stuck to her little fingers.

 Mom bought lots of little sand molds and we spent many fun moments making sand animals and castles. Don't forget to decorate with sea weed!

 "Who has numbered every grain of sand?  Behold, our GOD!"

 There we a lot of helicopters that flew over...we waved at them all.  :)

 Peter and Gramma soakin' up the rays!

 This is one of my favorite pictures.  Love my little man.

 Mom, the boys and I buried Brent in the sand. Totally his idea, I promise.

 Look, Jane....Ocean!

 Justin insisted on putting his head on the sand.  He said he liked the way it felt.  Finally Mom went and put him on a towel after he got sand packed in his ear. Mom and Dad joked that he was liked a little chihuahua puppy.   :)

 We had a good time going out and about too.  We had a few meals out and even went to a Goodwill.  My kind of vacation!

 Can you believe this shell?!  And this is not the smallest that was found.  To think that there is so much detail in something so small; God surely has creativity.  How great an artist He is to carve something so small with so much care.

 My Grandma, Corrie.  She was so loving to open up her home and do so much to make us feel welcome and comfortable.  I just lover her easy-going nature and her witty comments.  I always know we are going to laugh and have a good time when Corrie is there!

 There is something so whimsical about flying a kite on the beach...

 We didn't get to spend too much time with Jess and Shawn, but we were able to have a few good walks and meals together before we had to drive back to Ft Worth.  :)

We had such a wonderful time beholding God's creation and celebrating His goodness with our family.  Certainly God is good everywhere and we love our family always....but I am so grateful for times like these where the ties between family and the majesty of our Creator are brought to new heights.

Family Vacation to San Antonio

I love San Antonio.  It's simple.  San Antonio just has to be one of my top five favorite places of all time.  From the yummy mexican food to the warm breeze off the river, I just get down right giddy at  the thought of visiting this lovely city.  We took a vacation with Doug, Nancy, Courtney and Marty.  Great city, fabulous company.  

Not only did we get to see the Riverwalk, but we stayed at our normal Hyatt Resort with the lazy river and swimming pools.  How wonderful to get to relax and float.  Granted, I am not 8 months pregnant this year, but it was a nice treat all the same.  :)

 One night they had s'mores out on the man-made beach....we partook, naturally....but then the next day little  Justin automatically got out at the beach and went looking for a "mallow".  His instincts told him it was s'more time!  Such a funny kid.

 No s'more, so he settled for a popsicle.  :)

Boat ride down the San Antonio River.  Our guide was knowledgeable and pretty funny too!  It was a great time to feel the breeze and see the pretty night lights.

 Oh. My. Goodness.  Yes, people, we went to Sea World!  I can't describe how much fun I had personally. If I thought I was giddy before, it was nothing compared to the huge rush of excitement when Shamu jumped out of the water!

 We sat right there in the splash zone!!!  Peter and Justin weren't so keen on it, so they went and sat up with the others in the dry zone...but I went back down to sit in the splash zone again.  Yes, by myself.

 I must admit I got a little choked up during the show.  To think that the same mighty God that made me also made this beautiful creature.  And to think that they swim in the big ocean, also created by Him, all those moments that we live too.  They are swimming and existing right now...all because God is good, creative, and it pleases Him to allow it.

 Justin had no qualms about grabbing those dead fish and feeding the anxious dolphins.

 I got to pet one!  It felt like Brent's newly-shaved head.  hahahahahahaha.  (props to Dana for the analogy!)

 We also went to the splash pad to cool off.  That little munchkin catty-corner to me in the upper left of the pic is none other than Peter Lewis, having the time of his life.

Shew.  What a day.  We had a blast with the people we love, worshiping the God we love.  Thank you for a great vacation!

Celebrating SUMMER!

Summer is in full swing and we are loving it!  So many happy things to do when the breeze is warm and the sun is shining.  Here are a few examples:

We love to go to the drive-in.  We went with our friends, the Lambs, to see the Avenger's.  Such a fun way to take kids to see movies...lots of room to be restless.  

 We also love playing dress up.  We had our friends the Olivers over to play.  Here is Spiderman (Peter), Bumble Bee (Jordan), Iron Man (Logan), Thor (Keagan) and Captain America (Justin).

 And who knew that this beautiful view was at our local Sonic...right across the street.

 Hehe...9 mo milestone pic

 AAAAND ...going to the symphony. One of  Brent and Ben's favorite composers, Michael Giacchino, came to Dallas!  So we went on a double date for an afternoon of music, fellowship and dinner.  We had such a lovely time sharing the experience with our friends.

 The seats were great!  Right up in the 'sweet spot' of the auditorium.

 The man of the hour, Michael Giacchino himself!

The orchestra was amazing and the choir literally gave me chills.  But, as Brent and Ben pointed out, the music in heaven will be (and IS) beyond comparison!